Sunakkhattasutta

Majjhima Nikāya 105

With Sunakkhatta · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Seyyathāpi, sunakkhatta, puriso sallena viddho assa savisena gāḷhūpalepanena.
Tassa mittāmaccā ñātisālohitā bhisakkaṁ sallakattaṁ upaṭṭhāpeyyuṁ.
Tassa so bhisakko sallakatto satthena vaṇamukhaṁ parikanteyya.
Satthena vaṇamukhaṁ parikantitvā esaniyā sallaṁ eseyya.
Esaniyā sallaṁ esitvā sallaṁ abbuheyya, apaneyya visadosaṁ anupādisesaṁ.
Anupādisesoti jānamāno so evaṁ vadeyya:
‘ambho purisa, ubbhataṁ kho te sallaṁ, apanīto visadoso anupādiseso.
Analañca te antarāyāya.
Sappāyāni ceva bhojanāni bhuñjeyyāsi, mā te asappāyāni bhojanāni bhuñjato vaṇo assāvī assa.
Kālena kālañca vaṇaṁ dhoveyyāsi, kālena kālaṁ vaṇamukhaṁ ālimpeyyāsi. Mā te na kālena kālaṁ vaṇaṁ dhovato na kālena kālaṁ vaṇamukhaṁ ālimpato pubbalohitaṁ vaṇamukhaṁ pariyonandhi.
Mā ca vātātape cārittaṁ anuyuñji, mā te vātātape cārittaṁ anuyuttassa rajosūkaṁ vaṇamukhaṁ anuddhaṁsesi.

Suppose a man was struck by an arrow thickly smeared with poison. Their friends and colleagues, relatives and kin would get a surgeon to treat them. The surgeon would cut open the wound with a scalpel, probe for the arrow, extract it, and expel the poison, leaving no residue behind. Knowing that no residue remained, the surgeon would say: ‘My man, the dart has been extracted and the poison expelled with no residue. It’s not capable of harming you. Eat only suitable food. Don’t eat unsuitable food, or else the wound may get infected. Regularly wash the wound and anoint the opening, or else it’ll get covered with pus and blood. Don’t walk too much in the wind and sun, or else dust and dirt will infect the wound.

Vaṇānurakkhī ca, ambho purisa, vihareyyāsi vaṇasāropī’ti.

Take care of the wound, my man, heal it.’

Tassa evamassa:
‘ubbhataṁ kho me sallaṁ, apanīto visadoso anupādiseso.
Analañca me antarāyāyā’ti.
So sappāyāni ceva bhojanāni bhuñjeyya. Tassa sappāyāni bhojanāni bhuñjato vaṇo na assāvī assa.
Kālena kālañca vaṇaṁ dhoveyya, kālena kālaṁ vaṇamukhaṁ ālimpeyya. Tassa kālena kālaṁ vaṇaṁ dhovato kālena kālaṁ vaṇamukhaṁ ālimpato na pubbalohitaṁ vaṇamukhaṁ pariyonandheyya.
Na ca vātātape cārittaṁ anuyuñjeyya. Tassa vātātape cārittaṁ ananuyuttassa rajosūkaṁ vaṇamukhaṁ nānuddhaṁseyya.
Vaṇānurakkhī ca vihareyya vaṇasāropī.
Tassa imissā ca sappāyakiriyāya asu ca visadoso apanīto anupādiseso tadubhayena vaṇo viruheyya.
So ruḷhena vaṇena sañchavinā neva maraṇaṁ vā nigaccheyya na maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhaṁ.

They’d think: ‘The dart has been extracted and the poison expelled with no residue. It’s not capable of harming me.’ They’d eat suitable food, and the wound wouldn’t get infected. And they’d regularly wash and anoint the opening, so it wouldn’t get covered in pus and blood. And they wouldn’t walk too much in the wind and sun, so dust and dirt wouldn’t infect the wound. And they’d take care of the wound and heal it. Then both because they did what was suitable, and the unclean poison had left no residue, the wound would heal, and no death or deadly pain would result.

Evameva kho, sunakkhatta, ṭhānametaṁ vijjati yaṁ idhekaccassa bhikkhuno evamassa:
‘taṇhā kho sallaṁ samaṇena vuttaṁ, avijjāvisadoso chandarāgabyāpādena ruppati.
Taṁ me taṇhāsallaṁ pahīnaṁ, apanīto avijjāvisadoso, sammā nibbānādhimuttohamasmī’ti.
Sammā nibbānādhimuttasseva sato so yāni sammā nibbānādhimuttassa asappāyāni tāni nānuyuñjeyya, asappāyaṁ cakkhunā rūpadassanaṁ nānuyuñjeyya, asappāyaṁ sotena saddaṁ nānuyuñjeyya, asappāyaṁ ghānena gandhaṁ nānuyuñjeyya, asappāyaṁ jivhāya rasaṁ nānuyuñjeyya, asappāyaṁ kāyena phoṭṭhabbaṁ nānuyuñjeyya, asappāyaṁ manasā dhammaṁ nānuyuñjeyya.
Tassa asappāyaṁ cakkhunā rūpadassanaṁ nānuyuttassa, asappāyaṁ sotena saddaṁ nānuyuttassa, asappāyaṁ ghānena gandhaṁ nānuyuttassa, asappāyaṁ jivhāya rasaṁ nānuyuttassa, asappāyaṁ kāyena phoṭṭhabbaṁ nānuyuttassa, asappāyaṁ manasā dhammaṁ nānuyuttassa, rāgo cittaṁ nānuddhaṁseyya.
So na rāgānuddhaṁsitena cittena neva maraṇaṁ vā nigaccheyya na maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhaṁ.

In the same way, it’s possible that a certain mendicant might think: ‘The Ascetic has said that craving is a dart; and that the poison of ignorance is inflicted by desire and ill will. I have given up the dart of craving and expelled the poison of ignorance; I am rightly intent on extinguishment.’ Being rightly intent on extinguishment, they wouldn’t engage in things unconducive to extinguishment: unsuitable sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas. Doing so, lust wouldn’t infect their mind, so no death or deadly pain would result.

Upamā kho me ayaṁ, sunakkhatta, katā atthassa viññāpanāya.
Ayaṁyevettha attho—
vaṇoti kho, sunakkhatta, channetaṁ ajjhattikānaṁ āyatanānaṁ adhivacanaṁ;
visadosoti kho, sunakkhatta, avijjāyetaṁ adhivacanaṁ;
sallanti kho, sunakkhatta, taṇhāyetaṁ adhivacanaṁ;
esanīti kho, sunakkhatta, satiyāyetaṁ adhivacanaṁ;
satthanti kho, sunakkhatta, ariyāyetaṁ paññāya adhivacanaṁ;
bhisakko sallakattoti kho, sunakkhatta, tathāgatassetaṁ adhivacanaṁ arahato sammāsambuddhassa.

I’ve made up this simile to make a point. And this is the point: ‘Wound’ is a term for the six interior sense fields. ‘Poison’ is a term for ignorance. ‘Dart’ is a term for craving. ‘Probing’ is a term for mindfulness. ‘Scalpel’ is a term for noble wisdom. ‘Surgeon’ is a term for the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha.

So vata, sunakkhatta, bhikkhu chasu phassāyatanesu saṁvutakārī.
‘Upadhi dukkhassa mūlan’ti—iti viditvā nirupadhi upadhisaṅkhaye vimutto upadhismiṁ vā kāyaṁ upasaṁharissati cittaṁ vā uppādessatīti—netaṁ ṭhānaṁ vijjati.

Truly, Sunakkhatta, that mendicant practices restraint regarding the six fields of contact. Understanding that attachment is the root of suffering, they are freed with the ending of attachments. It’s not possible that they would apply their body or interest their mind in any attachment.

Seyyathāpi, sunakkhatta, āpānīyakaṁso vaṇṇasampanno gandhasampanno rasasampanno;
so ca kho visena saṁsaṭṭho.
Atha puriso āgaccheyya jīvitukāmo amaritukāmo sukhakāmo dukkhapaṭikūlo.
Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, sunakkhatta,
api nu so puriso amuṁ āpānīyakaṁsaṁ piveyya yaṁ jaññā:
‘imāhaṁ pivitvā maraṇaṁ vā nigacchāmi maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhan’”ti?
“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“Evameva kho, sunakkhatta, so vata bhikkhu chasu phassāyatanesu saṁvutakārī.
‘Upadhi dukkhassa mūlan’ti—iti viditvā nirupadhi upadhisaṅkhaye vimutto upadhismiṁ vā kāyaṁ upasaṁharissati cittaṁ vā uppādessatīti—netaṁ ṭhānaṁ vijjati.

Suppose there was a bronze goblet of beverage that had a nice color, aroma, and flavor. But it was mixed with poison. Then a person would come along who wants to live and doesn’t want to die, who wants to be happy and recoils from pain. What do you think, Sunakkhatta? Would that person drink that beverage if they knew that it would result in death or deadly suffering?” “No, sir.” “In the same way, Sunakkhatta, that mendicant practices restraint regarding the six fields of contact. Understanding that attachment is the root of suffering, they are freed with the ending of attachments. It’s not possible that they would apply their body or interest their mind in any attachment.

Seyyathāpi, sunakkhatta, āsīviso ghoraviso.
Atha puriso āgaccheyya jīvitukāmo amaritukāmo sukhakāmo dukkhapaṭikūlo.
Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, sunakkhatta,
api nu so puriso amussa āsīvisassa ghoravisassa hatthaṁ vā aṅguṭṭhaṁ vā dajjā yaṁ jaññā:
‘imināhaṁ daṭṭho maraṇaṁ vā nigacchāmi maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhan’”ti?
“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“Evameva kho, sunakkhatta, so vata bhikkhu chasu phassāyatanesu saṁvutakārī.
‘Upadhi dukkhassa mūlan’ti—iti viditvā nirupadhi upadhisaṅkhaye vimutto upadhismiṁ vā kāyaṁ upasaṁharissati cittaṁ vā uppādessatīti—
netaṁ ṭhānaṁ vijjatī”ti.
Idamavoca bhagavā.
Attamano sunakkhatto licchaviputto bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandīti.
Sunakkhattasuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ pañcamaṁ.

Suppose there was a lethal viper. Then a person would come along who wants to live and doesn’t want to die, who wants to be happy and recoils from pain. What do you think, Sunakkhatta? Would that person give that lethal viper their hand or finger if they knew that it would result in death or deadly suffering?” “No, sir.” “In the same way, Sunakkhatta, that mendicant practices restraint regarding the six fields of contact. Understanding that attachment is the root of suffering, they are freed with the ending of attachments. It’s not possible that they would apply their body or interest their mind in any attachment.” That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, Sunakkhatta of the Licchavi clan approved what the Buddha said.

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